1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable casing for a bar of soap which has a structure such as a lipstick container so that it receives a soap bar in such a fashion that the soap bar is extended from and retracted into the casing in accordance with a rotating operation of the casing, thereby being convenient to use and carry the soap bar. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable casing for a soap bar which has a structure such as a lipstick container so that it receives a soap bar in such a fashion that the soap bar is normally in a retracted state within the casing while being extended from the casing by a desired length only when it is desired to be used, in order to allow the user to lather his desired body portion, thereby being convenient to use, carry, and store the soap bar.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, when soap comes into contact with water, it is dissolved because it is soluble in water. In this case, the soap may be softened, and deformed.
In order to use soap for a prolonged period of time, therefore, it is necessary to prevent the soap from coming into contact with water when it is not used, for example, during its carriage or storage. It is also necessary to protect the soap from being damaged by an external impact.
Typically, soap products have a rectangular or oval shape while having a certain size and volume. Also, such soap products are generally received in a case or wrapped by a paper packing sheet, so that their volume is considerably increased. Due to such an increased volume, there is an inconvenience in carrying and using soap.
Furthermore, although soap has a size gradually reduced as it is used, the case thereof has a constant size. For this reason, the size-reduced soap is movable within the case, so that it may be damaged or broken when it is subjected to an external impact.
In order to wash a desired body portion with soap and water, the user must first lather his hands. For this reason, there is an inconvenience in using soap and waste of soap.
When the user desires to lather his particular body portion, for example, the armpit or neck, he must grasp the soap by his hand, and then rub the soap on the body portion. In this case, the soap is excessively consumed.
In order to solve such problems, a xe2x80x9cportable casing for a soap barxe2x80x9d has been proposed which is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 99-55421 filed in the name of the present inventor.
The Korean Patent Application No. 99-55421 was filed on Dec. 7, 1999, and laid open on Mar. 6, 2000. U.S. Application corresponding to the Korean Patent Application has been allowed as a patent bearing U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,391.
The portable casing disclosed in the Korean Patent Application No. 99-55421 will be briefly described.
The portable casing includes a cylindrical casing body closed at the bottom thereof, a fixed base fixedly mounted to the bottom of the casing body and provided at an upper end thereof with a plurality of serrated elastic pieces, an elongated outer cylindrical member rotatably fitted in the casing body, and a lid separably fitted around the upper end of the outer cylindrical member. The portable casing also includes an intermediate cylindrical member fixedly fitted in the outer cylindrical member and provided at an inner surface thereof with spiral grooves, an inner cylindrical member rotatably received in the intermediate cylindrical member while having longitudinal guide slots formed at a cylindrical wall of the inner cylindrical member. The inner cylindrical member is also provided at the bottom thereof with a hole for receiving the serrated elastic pieces. A plurality of serrations are formed at the inner surface of the hole so that they are engaged with the serrations of the serrated elastic pieces. The portable casing further includes a carrier ring fitted in the inner cylindrical member and provided at its outer surface with guide protrusions respectively received in the spiral grooves via the guide slots, and a soap bar fitted in the carrier ring at its lower end. The carrier ring is vertically movable in accordance with a rotating operation of the casing body, so that the soap bar fixed to the carrier ring is vertically movable.
When the user rotates the casing body with respect to the outer cylindrical member after separating the lid from the outer cylindrical member, the fixed base fixedly mounted to the casing body is rotated, so that the inner cylindrical member is rotated because it is coupled with the fixed base via the serrations. In accordance with the rotation of the inner cylindrical member, the carrier ring is rotated because its guide protrusions are engaged with respective guide slots of the inner cylindrical member.
Simultaneously with the rotation, the carrier ring is upwardly moved because its guide protrusions are respectively engaged with the spiral grooves of the intermediate cylindrical member via the guide slots.
In accordance with the upward movement of the carrier ring, the soap bar fixed to the carrier ring is outwardly protruded from the outer cylindrical member. Thus, the user can outwardly protrude the soap bar by a desired length. In this state, the user can lather his desired body portion using the protruded soap bar.
When the user rotates the casing body in the reverse direction after using the soap bar, a reverse operation of the above described operation is carried out, thereby causing the soap bar to be retracted into the outer cylindrical member. After the soap bar is completely retracted, the user fits the lid around the upper end of the outer cylindrical member.
In this state, the user can put the portable casing in a handbag or pocket to carry it, like as lipsticks. Otherwise, the portable casing may be kept at a desired place.
That is, the above mentioned portable casing disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 99-55421 has a configuration, in which as the casing body or outer cylindrical body rotates, the carrier ring is vertically moved while being guided by the spiral grooves of the intermediate cylindrical member and the guide slots of the inner cylindrical member, thereby causing the soap bar fixed to the carrier ring to be vertically moved for its protrusion or retraction.
However, this portable casing has disadvantages in that it may operate unstably while requiring a great rotating force because the rotating force applied to the casing body is indirectly transmitted to the carrier ring via the fixed base, serrations, and inner cylindrical member. As described above, the spiral grooves serving to convert the rotating force into a vertical moving force for the carrier ring are formed at the intermediate cylindrical member arranged above the casing body.
Furthermore, when an excessive force is applied to the serrations of the fixed base and inner cylindrical member serving as power transmission means, those serrations may be disengaged from each other. Moreover, the portable casing uses a large number of elements, thereby causing a difficulty in the manufacturing process, an increase in the manufacturing costs, and a degradation in quality.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a portable casing for a soap bar which is configured to directly transmit a rotating force, applied to a casing body, to a carrier ring carrying the soap bar, thereby being capable of achieving a reliable operation with a reduced force to easily extend and retract the soap bar.
Another object of the invention is to provide a portable casing for a soap bar which has a reduced number of constituting elements, thereby being capable of reducing the manufacturing costs while achieving an improvement in quality.
In accordance with the present invention, these objects are accomplished by providing a portable casing for a soap bar comprising a cylindrical casing body having a threaded hole, and a carrier member adapted to carry a soap bar and directly coupled to the threaded hole of the cylindrical casing body so as to directly receive a force from the cylindrical casing body for vertically moving the soap bar.
Since the rotating force from the cylindrical casing body is directly transmitted to the carrier member, the operation of the portable soap bar casing is reliable. The portable soap bar casing can also be constructed using a reduced number of constituting elements. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve a reduction in manufacturing costs and an improvement in quality.
Since the user can protrude the soap bar by a desired length, and lather his desired body portion using the protruded soap bar, it is convenient to use the portable soap bar casing. It is also possible to prevent the soap bar from being damaged.